Vainieri Huttle, Downey & Houghtaling Bill to Honor Transgender Advocate Babs Siperstein

Clears Committee

            (TRENTON) – To honor the legacy of one of New Jersey’s more influential and prominent LGBTQ advocates, the Assembly Human Services Committee on Monday advanced a bill (A-5074) to rename the state’s “Transgender Day of Remembrance” held annually on November 20^th to “Babs Siperstein Transgender Day of Remembrance.”

Bill sponsors Valerie Vainieri Huttle (D-Bergen), Joann Downey and Eric Houghtaling (both D-Monmouth) released the following joint statement:

“Babs Siperstein dedicated her life to advocating for equal rights for the LGBTQ community. She fought relentlessly for marriage equality, pushed to end workplace discrimination and worked with political leaders to ensure gender equality was at the forefront of legislative agendas. She went on to make history as the first openly transgender member of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) in 2009. A true trailblazer, she continues to be a role model for a new generation of activists.

            “Babs’ work will never be forgotten here in her home state of New Jersey. She is the namesake of the State’s landmark legislation allowing transgender people to amend their birth certificates, and we look forward to seeing her name carried on as part of Transgender Day of Remembrance.”